


Sunrise and Sketches

by ashleyy15



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, F/M, Fluff, How Do I Use Tags, Mentions of Ereri, beruani - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-07 17:01:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1906896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashleyy15/pseuds/ashleyy15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>New neighbor, new feelings, old memories?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunrise and Sketches

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to my best friend who lives miles and miles away from me

Berthold heard the sound of a door slamming first. Immediately, he lost his concentration on his current read and glanced up, as if the wall separating his apartment and his neighbour's would instantly disappear, allowing him to find out what's going on. He found out a few days ago from the old tenant that he was moving out and Berthold was going to get a new neighbour soon. Berthold had hoped that whoever the new neighbour was, she or he was going to be friendly since the old tenant was. So when he heard the door slamming, he immediately dreaded meeting his new neighbour.

 

_What if this person is a murderer? What if they're a thief? What if they're some kind of kleptomaniac?_

 

Negative thoughts immediately began running through poor Berthold's head. He didn't even hear his own doorbell ringing until the third ring. With his book long forgotten on the couch, he jumped to his feet and rushed to the door. It was that moment that he wished he'd gotten a door with a peep hole. Sighing, he reached out to open the door, putting on the most genuine-looking smile he could muster up.

 

“Hello, how may I help you-”

 

Whatever he had wanted to say immediately flew out the window. Standing in front of him was a girl he swore he had never seen before. Her blonde hair was tied into a messy bun. She wore a white hoodie with grey sweat pants, her face was completely deprived of makeup, making her tired expression more obvious. The bags underneath her indicated many sleepless nights, Berthold wondered if she was one of those people who took multiple part-time jobs and worked til they're exhausted. What Berthold realized next was how short the girl was. She barely reached his shoulder and somehow he found that rather endearing.

 

“Sorry to bother you,” was the first thing the blonde girl said.

 

“Oh, um it's okay. I was just reading some book.” He couldn't even remember the title of the book now, this girl had his full attention and he had no idea why.

 

The girl nodded before crossing her arms. “I'm the new neighbour.”

 

Berthold wondered if she just came knocking on the door just to say that.

 

“I was actually wondering if you can spare any salt?” Oh.

 

Berthold opened the door wider, waiting for her to come in. Without saying anything, she kicked off her sneakers and entered, keeping her head down. “You can wait in the living room, I'll just go get the salt,” Berthold said before going into the kitchen. He silently thanked God that he always kept the kitchen neat and tidy. He quickly found a bag of salt before pouring it into a small container, hoping that would be enough for the new neighbour of his. She seemed like a lone wolf so that should be enough.

 

When he returned back to the living room, he found her sitting at the same spot where he was before she knocked on the door. She was looking through the pages of a book he immediately recognized.

 

“Finding it interesting?”

 

The girl looked up and gave a tiny smile. “Yeah, a bit. I like the art. It goes well with the story.”

 

Berthold gave a sheepish smile. “It's actually my favorite story.” Advancing Giants was a story that his two friends made for him.

 

The girl nodded. “I've never seen it in bookstores though. Is it some kind of exclusive edition?” She flipped the book sideways and under, trying to find the price tag or the name of the author. Berthold couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at her actions.

 

“Actually, it's a gift from a friend. He wrote the story while his boyfriend did that art.” He explained. Eren had thought of publishing it when his friends told him it was really good, but Levi had told him not to, that the story was special. So instead, Eren gave out a few copies of it to Berthold and his other friends, including that stepsister of his.

 

“Eren Jaeger, huh?” He heard her whisper when she finally found the name of the author at the first page of the book. He saw her smiling as if she remembered a distant memory. “I bet that boyfriend of his is someone named Levi.”

 

Berthold's eyes widened. “Have you met them before?”

 

She laughed. It was a soft laugh and Berthold found himself liking it. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pants discretely, hating how sweaty his hands got when he became nervous. He wondered why being around this girl made him so nervous. There was definitely nothing special about her, but at the same time he felt this strange connection with her.

 

_Shut up, Bert. Maybe it's just because she likes the same story as you._

 

“You can say that I did, a long time ago.”

 

She continued to flip through the pages, Berthold recognized the chapters where one enemy titan killed many of the protagonist's friends and comrades. He would never admit it to anyone, but he had shed a few tears here and there while reading that chapter. Plus, the art Levi drew was so detailed that Berthold wondered if he drew it from memory. But that was impossible, so just assumed that he's a great artist.

 

“He didn't draw the Female Titan.” Berthold thought it was his imagination, but he swore he could detect just a little bit of sadness in her words.

 

“Levi didn't really want to draw any of the characters in detail, said it would ruin the reader's imagination.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“You are welcomed to keep the book. I've read it a thousand times by now.”

 

He watched her snap her head towards him. “Are you serious?”

 

Berthold shrugged. “Yeah, treat it as a welcoming gift.”

 

She was silent for awhile, watching Berthold as if waiting for him to yell surprise and that he was joking. But when that didn't happen, she said, “Annie. My name is Annie Leonhardt.”

 

Berthold grinned. “Just like the story character?”

 

Annie responded with a grin of her own. “Yeah, except I can't turn into a titan.” She was already getting up, ready to leave. After handing her the container of salt and walking her to the door, Berthold found himself wondering when's the next time he would see her. “Nice to meet you, Berthold.” She waved at him before shutting the door behind her.

 

It was that moment when Berthold realized he never told her his name.

 

\- -

Days later, he found her again. It was completely coincidental, almost like fate. He was taking a run at the beach at six in the morning, right when the sun rises. Berthold found the sight of the sun rising from the ocean beautiful, so every morning at five he would wake up and get ready for a run. It was the same that morning. But what he didn't expect to find was Annie sitting at the beach with a sketchbook in hand.

 

“Hey there!”

 

Annie immediately turned her head at the sound of Berthold's voice.

 

“Hey.”

 

“What are you doing here so early in the morning?”

 

“Well, what are _you_ doing so early in the morning?”

 

“I asked you first.”

 

Annie sighed and shook her head, a small smile showing on her face. “Fine, I was drawing. Being near the ocean calms me and helps me think better.”

 

“You sound a little like Eren there. But I get it too.”

 

“You still haven't tell me what you're doing here though.”

 

“I run here every morning, I like to watch the sunrise too.”

 

Annie nodded, returning her focus to the sketchbook in her lap. Berthold watched her pencil moved along the paper and became curious. He spotted the copy of Advancing Giants beside Annie and felt a blush coming.

 

_So she did keep the book.._

 

He made his way over to her and sat down, deciding that skipping a run that day won't hurt. Somehow, watching the sunrise with Annie sounded a lot more appealing. “What are you drawing?” He found himself asking. Annie looked up from her sketchbook and glanced at Berthold. He found his breath getting stuck in his throat when he saw just how blue Annie's eyes were. It was mesmerizing and he silently wished to touch her face.

 

“Is there something on my face?”

 

Berthold immediately snapped out of it. “Huh what?”

 

Annie shook her head before placing her sketchbook on Berthold's lap. “Do you believe in reincarnation?”

 

Berthold furrowed his brows, not exactly sure where the conversation was going. But he responded anyway. “Um maybe?” He carefully opened up the sketchbook. His eyes widened, realizing that Annie had been drawing based on Eren's story. He recognized the Wings of Freedom emblem, he recognized the scenary too. But when he flipped to the next page, he felt himself stopped breathing.

 

It was a group drawing of Berthold and his friends, with Annie standing at the side. All of them were wearing the uniforms of the Recon Corp – white pants, dark knee-high boots, straps from the 3dmg, and lastly the brown jacket with the emblem on it. He recognized the faces of his friends – Jean, Reiner, Sasha, Connie, Mikasa, Eren, all of them. Unless Annie had met his friends, there was no way she could draw such details of their faces.

 

He slowly glanced down to the bottom right of the page where Annie had written in her cursive writing, “The 104th trainee squad.”

 

Almost immediately, memories of his past life began flooding his mind. He remembered his childhood, his trainee years spent with his friends that some he regretfully killed, and lastly he remembered _her._ Berthold wasn't sure what to expect. After years and years of searching for her in the past life, after running away from the Walls, here she was, right in front of him.

 

“Hi.”

 

“Hey.”

 

“Nice to meet you again.”

 

“Yeah, it is.”

 

“I searched for you.”

 

Annie let out a soft smile. “I know.”

 

“Those idiots,” Berthold laughed, “I finally get why they used 'Wrecking Ball' as my contact ringtone in their phones.”

 

At that, Annie let out a genuine laugh, one that Berthold never heard in their past life.

 

“Wow.”

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing, I just never actually hear you laugh like that.”

 

“Yeah well, stick around and you'll actually get to know me in this life.”

 

Berthold smiled. “I don't mind sticking around longer.”

 

At that moment, the sun rose from the ocean, marking a new day. For Berthold, it was like the start of a new life with a girl he'd been searching for thousands of years.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't coming out as I planned, I'm so sorry. I didn't proof read either so I apologize for the mistakes!


End file.
